Q: I have had this piece of jewelry for many years. I think you wear it in your hair. Can you tell me when and where it was made, its quality and possible selling price?

A: Your clip is not meant for hair. It is a fur clip, used to hold the ends of a fur stole together. Fur clips have a spring clasp and two sharp prongs to secure it to the pelt without doing too much harm. Dress clips are similar, but they only have one wide piece of metal with “teeth” to grasp thin fabric at the neckline. Dress and fur clips were popular in the 1930s and ’40s.

Dress designer Jonas Eisenberg, who started his company in 1914, accessorized his dresses with jewelry decorated with rhinestone crystals. When thefts of the clips and pins showed the jewelry was popular, Eisenberg Ice was established in 1935 to sell just jewelry. The Eisenberg Originals mark was used from 1935 to 1945. The company made sterling pieces from 1943 until 1948. Eisenberg sterling fur clips in good condition sell for prices ranging from $300 to about $700.

 

 

Eisenberg Fur Clip